The present invention relates to draft chambers, class II biohazard safety cabinets, and chemical hazard safety cabinets (may hereinafter be referred to collectively as “biosafety cabinets”) and, more particularly, to a biosafety cabinet suitable for use in handling contaminants in a workspace formed therein.
Draft chambers, cabinets for use in the nanotechnological field, and chemical hazard safety cabinets (may hereinafter be referred to collectively as “biosafety cabinets”) include, in many cases, an internal workspace where operation can be performed. A cabinet having such a workspace includes a front shutter and a front opening formed below the front shutter. An operator can extend his/her arms through the front opening into the cabinet and handle, for example, nanomaterial or chemically contaminated material. To prevent the operator from being contaminated by nanomaterial or chemically contaminated material, a flow of inward air being sucked into the cabinet or an air barrier is formed in the front opening.
To more strictly prevent contaminants from coming into contact with the operator, material to be handled is placed in a glove box making up an air-tight workspace, then the operator inserts his/her arms in hand-shaped gloves attached to the front of the workspace separating the workspace from the outside space and handles the material via the gloves. In the case of a chemical hazard safety cabinet or glove box, a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter is used to remove contaminants generated in the workspace so as to safely discharge only clean air to outside the cabinet or glove box. An example of such an existing type of biosafety cabinet is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-163053.